Ask On the Path to Discord

[Darth Tiamat]

Once more, Vahl and Tiamat were on her ship, quickly covering lightyears beyond the outer rim and to the edges of wild space. She would have preferred to have used one of the hypergates to jump, but the coordinates were tricky, requiring the woman to make multiple jumps and from time to time, to manually guide the ship through hyperspace. She was uncertain how Vahl was handling the ride; despite the roughness, it was surprisingly smooth as the quarter fraction adjustments allowed for them to miss the cosmic debris that littered this area of the galaxy.

She didn't give the acolyte many details, but she had been noticeably mopey and Tiamat thought perhaps some time away from the academies and doing some field work would help the girl snap out of the mood. Regardless, she was told where they were heading and what they were searching for: the possible ship pieces that were possibly still around. There were difficulties in mapping hyper-space disasters, they were supposedly unpredictable, but things can only be so random in a fixed galaxy. It wasn't like it suddenly appeared in a completely new galaxy, though sometimes it felt as though she were in bizzaro world with some of the stuff she'd experience in the Sith.

Vahl wouldn't just be able to sit and relax, Tiamat gave her some busy work to hash out calculations for some made-up scenarios in hyperspace. Nothing significant or anything that would happen, but to get the acolyte thinking increasingly more critical about her responses and about the situations they may face in this project.

The computers blinked and chirped, alerting them they would be coming out of hyperspace quickly and Tiamat prepared the controls on the ship and abruptly they returned to real space. In front of them was an arid planet where they were to land and start their search.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Even if the details were noticeably lacking, Vahliri was actually feeling pretty good about leaving the academies for this expedition. It was no secret that she had grown to enjoy the opportunity for more field experience, and whatever apprehensions she might’ve had in the beginning, the half-Annfyn had grown to genuinely respect Tiamat by this point. Moreover, the expedition was a welcome opportunity to get her mind off the drama of the past few weeks. While she and Altair had spoken and were undeniably in a better place, it was still nice to simply focus entirely on something else.

Perhaps to Tiamat’s surprise, Vahliri held up surprisingly well despite the roughness of the journey. After multiple trips with the AcoSquad and that first near-crash on Zakuul, the half-Annfyn was convinced that no amount of turbulence could phase her. While the half-Annfyn had a reputation for impractical clothing choices, she had actually opted for appropriate attire this time ‘round. She wore her usual, red-and-black Sith robes - the ensemble of armorweave and cloth custom fitted to her small frame. The curved hilt of the half-Annfyn’s lightsaber hung at her belt, while black hair was pulled back and styled out of her face.

Of course, the air around Vahliri was heavily scented with her expensive, floral perfume - a step she didn’t neglect even for expeditions like this.

While Tiamat focused on guiding them to their destination, Vahliri was left to dealt with the hypothetical equations and calculations that had been left for her. It was a subject area that she wasn’t entirely familiar with, and yet it nevertheless perked the more academic and inquisitive side of the half-Annfyn. By the time they dropped out of hyperspace, Vahliri’s had scribbled her equations and calculation attempts across wide swathes of the board on the wall of the starship - carefully working in to avoid erasing someone Tiamat wrote, and thus risking being spaced in response. There was no small amount of errors to be found here and there, but the half-Annfyn was more or less on the right track.

She finally broke her attention away from the board on the wall when Tiamat exited the cockpit, amber eyes fixing onto the woman. “Landing soon?” She asked with a hint of excitement, glancing past the former Sith Lord to look out towards the arid planet on the horizon. “Be nice to stretch our legs.”

The moment Vahliri turned to face her, Tiamat would immediately notice the small paper plate in her hands - and the half-eaten muffin she had sniped from the ship’s fridge. Calculations were hungry work, and the baked treat was shockingly moist and delicious. Home-baked, even.

“This one stumped the hell out of me.” She gestured to one equation in particular.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

"Landing now." she announced as Vahl called back, curious to see if they were almost there. It was an absurdly long flight, but Tiamat wasn't too bothered with it as compared to those who may be a bit more restless than herself. The woman landed the ship in a clearing before heading to the back to see how the acolyte was fairing with the homework she gave her. She carefully reviewed the acolyte's work, finding room on the walls to add to the collection of Tiamat's algorithms and equations she had worked on over the last few years.

She glanced at the acolyte who was holding a paper plate with a half-eaten muffin, eyebrow quirked wondering if she was going to finish it and not let it go to waste. Vahl informed there was one equation left that gave her trouble. Tiamat looked at the one she was speaking of, nodding to herself, "Yeah, that one has me stumped too." she said looking at it in silence, studying the differences between their work, "Everything else looks...fine..." she said grabbing a pen to note next to a set of numbers.

"Don't waste that muffin." she said grabbing a thicker coat and her gear. She was glad the acolyte didn't dress in her typical skin thin pants and shirts, because she would be disappointed if she froze to death in the field. Tiamat grabbed her pack and left instruction for the droid before heading off the ship with Vahl.

The air was dry, the wind constantly whipped around them, and the area was flat and rocky, the horizon could be seen for miles on end. "Let's go."

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

While she idly munched on the muffin, Vahliri kept her gaze on Tiamat - listening as the older woman spoke. The half-Annfyn visibly perked up a bit when Tiamat approved of her work - her lips tugging upwards ever-so-slightly, while her fluted ears proceeded to do a few happy little swivels. Hyperspace calculations certainly weren’t her speciality, so she couldn’t deny being a bit satisfied that her work was acceptable.

“Are you kidding? This muffin is great.” Vahliri said, glancing up at Tiamat before taking another bite. “I ain’t wastin’ nothing.” True to her word, the half-Annfyn continued to carry around the plate as they grabbed up the remainder of their belongings. She slung a backpack over her shoulder and pulled up the hood of her robes - shielding her face from the biting, cold air. By the time they stepped down the ramp and onto the surface of the arid planet, Vahliri had ditched the paper plate was simply carried the last few bites of her snack - taking time to savor it as they started their journey. With MRE’s and jerky filling both their packs, she expected this was going to be the best thing she would eat for a while.

The half-Annfyn squinted ever-so-slightly, amber eyes drifting across the rocky, barren horizon. There wasn’t a single structure to be seen, and the howling of the wind was the sole thing that Vahliri’s sensitive hearing could pick up on. A glance down at her commlink revealed that signal had dropped down to a single bar, and was likely to die out completely the further they got from the ship.

“On the bright side, it doesn't look like we’ll have much competition searching.” She flashed Tiamat a small grin, gesturing out to the desolate landscape. Vahliri should be downright shocked if they encounter any signs of modern civilization on the planet, based on initial analysis.

She popped the last bite of muffin into her mouth, chewing it slowly as she thought. Even if the details were lacking and her own understanding was limited, Vahliri knew what they were looking for and her mind immediately went to work attempting to decipher where they ought to go first. “I don’t think anything would survive very long out here in the elements, do you?” She glanced over towards Tiamat. “If there is anything left, it would have to be sheltered. Tucked out of the open - maybe crashed in some canyon or crag? Or something..” It made sense. Or at least.. It did in her mind.

Whether Tiamat agreed with her suggestion or not, Vahliri would continue to walk alongside the redhead - her hood billowing and hair whipping up in the wind as they trekked ahead. After a few moments, the half-Annfyn glanced over towards Tiamat - a sly, somewhat nosey expression spreading across her face. "How have you been since the party?" She asked. "Did that Firrerreo chick hit you up after? Think she's into you."

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Vahl quipped something about having the least competition while gesturing to the landscape. It was barren and dry, creatures here would most likely blend well with the rock and dirt. "No ports of any kind, not really the type of world with anything of use to the greater galaxy." she supported, however, scans did show minor life signs, most likely natural wildlife that lived on this world. As they walked, Tiamat checked her holopad, ensuring they were on the correct path to the selected coordinates. "Perhaps, but my guess this was not a controlled landing, survivors probably did not live long, however," she showed Vahll the coordinates. "Looking on here, this point has a large amount of electromagnetic activity that is worth investigating." she explained.

The acolyte remained quiet, she was uncertain if she just had nothing much to say, or if the elements were making her decide how much energy to expend in carrying discussion while taming her hair from obstructing her vision. However, the girl decided to continued conversation, asking how she was doing since the party; Tiamat gave her a puzzled look. She certainly did not think they were buddy enough for chit chat, but the half-annfyn continued, asking about Elina and the woman's eyes widened.

"No...?" Her blue eyes narrowed as she shot the acolyte a look, "That chick has been into me since I first met her when I was an acolyte." Tiamat smirked, "I'm not used to being flirted with, it throws me off all the time, and she knows that." the redheaded woman shrugged, "Besides, it was shocking to see her, it had been...years."

Though before the acolyte could get in another question, Tiamat poked her own nosy interests, "Who is that blonde girl you were hanging out with? She kept giving me the stink eye."

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri listened along when Tiamat supported her theory that there probably wasn’t a damn soul to be found anywhere close. The half-Annfyn could guess that whoever had landed on the planet hadn’t done so by choice.. Or well, if they had, she certainly couldn’t readily put together why they would do so. “I suppose that doesn’t rule out the possibility of weird-ass beastie’s or demons, huh?” She said with a slight grin, glancing over at Tiamat. The planet did have kind of creepiness to it, though it was more just ‘empty’ than anything.

She didn’t miss the way that Tiamat mentioned electromagnetic activity nearby, the cogs behind the half-Annfyn’s eyes spinning as she pondered for a moment. “Anything that could interfere with a ship flying overhead or nearby?” She finally asked. Maybe she was off base, but that hadn’t ever stopped the half-Annfyn from making her hypothesis’. They were here looking for a lost ship anyway - and any kind of anomaly they could attempt to link it would likely shed light on the entire story.

..It was also possible Vahliri was dead wrong in her assumption.

Either way, Vahliri couldn’t help but smirk when the conversation turned towards the party and Tiamat’s interactions with Elina - listening as she spoke. If the redhead thought that the look she gave would deter Vahliri and her super snooper habits, she was bound to be disappointed.

“Clove?” She repeated, blinking a few times. The fellow half-Annfyn had been nothing but sugary sweet that entire party - sans their mutual opinions of Aadya. “Friend of Altair’s I think - she was the girl in the wheelchair during Huttball.” She shrugged. “Beats me why she was mean-mugging you. Maybe she just doesn’t like redheads.”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Clove

Tiamat made note of the name as Vahl explained how she and Altair knew the girl. The acolyte suggested simply that she may have not liked redheads. That wouldn't have surprised the woman, she had encountered many in her life where they were jealous of her hair or carried some unwarranted hate. "Perhaps." she said agreeing with her, "Or some irrational fear of them." she said letting her thoughts move on from the opinions of blonde bimbos. The woman slowed her pace, gesturing for Vahl to do so also as they came to a ravine, the river nearly dried up below.

Vahl's comment about interference from this world was inaccurate as she looked back on her holopad. She paused, digging through her pack until she removed a palm-sized droid, "It wasn't interference from this world, the engines they used were prone to malfunctions. The signal we're picking up is the engine's atomic breakdown." she explained letting the droid hoover above her palm, and it took off to collect data.

"We'll need to find a path down, but let's see if there is an easier way." she explained, sitting on the ground as she watched the holocam on the holopad.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

“Probably both,”

Vahliri flashed Tiamat a wide grin, giving the redhead a playful nudge as they walked along the path and towards the signal they were receiving - slowing her pace a bit to match Tiamat’s own. “Or just jealous.”

The half-Annfyn couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed that her own hypothesis was totally off base. Oh well. On the bright side, Tiamat’s answer brought about a new train of thought from the half-Annfyn. “Well, at least that confirms we’re on the right track.” It wasn’t exactly clear how much the engine had degraded over time or if it would be particularly useable by Tiamat if that was the case.. But at least they knew it was here.

“What.. Caused these engines to fall out of use, anyway? Just too dangerous, given how they malfunction?” She inquired, watching as Tiamat drew out a little droid and allowed it to descend down into the ravine.

“Nifty,” She muttered.

Relying upon the droid to do the work at this point, Vahliri proceeded to lean in close over Tiamat’s shoulder to get a look at the HoloPad camera - squinting a bit as she watched the feed, “Anything yet?”

After a few moments of downward flight, the pair would be able to see a few things within the ravine. Firstly was a narrow footpath that carved down the canyon not far from where they were - providing them a method - albeit not a particularly pleasant one - down into the ravine. Perhaps more interestingly, however, was the mouth of a cave system at the base of the ravine - a steady stream of water pouring into its entrance vanishing down into the earthen tunnels. They would both notice how electromagnetic readings began to increase drastically as the droid approached the cave.

They would only have a few seconds to look, however, before the feed was abruptly interrupted. Out of nowhere, something struck the side of the probe - causing it to crash to the ground and camera to die within a split second. Neither of them would be able to get a good look at what had attacked the prone, but a not-entirely-humanoid shadow off to the peripheral of the camera would undoubted catch their attention.

Vahliri blinked, “Uh..” She slowly glanced over to Tia, “Don’t have another one of those, do you?”

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

"Greed, unchecked ambition." she explained, "They were wildly successful, but then got sloppy." Tia watched the holo-cam feed. The electromagnetic signal made the feed grainy, but it was enough for them to make out the unknown terrain near their destination point. The woman hummed to herself as she watched, the tune she had listened from Altair's singing from their last journey together ran through her thoughts as she focused. "Nothing...wait..."

The screen showed a path, then a cave, "That...looks worn, recently..." she said tracing it with her finger on the screen, but jumped, eyes wide as she watched her little droid fall abruptly to the ground, its last image casted of a shadow that was clearly interfering. Tiamat glanced at Vahl, "No, I don't." her brow narrowed, clearly irritated, "C'mon." she directed.

She shoved the holopad back in her pack and removed her vibroblade, "The drop wasn't as deep a few meters ahead. Let's go greet this droid hater." she said standing up and headed toward the cave.

The overcast sky begun to darken and the winds picked up from behind them as they came to the edge of the ravine. The drop was far, but not with the aid of the the Force. "We go down. I will go first and then I'll catch you." she said, tightening the straps on her pack. Vahl would feel the Force twist and warp to the redhead's command as she stepped off the ledge, landing with a finesse and strength indicative of her power. Dust billowed from where she stood and waved for Vahl to follow, ready to catch her before moving onward.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

There was an extended pause from Vahliri as she listened, eyes remaining fixed onto Tiamat as the redhead went on to explain what had become of the Nihil and their engines of old. Even if the half-Annfyn didn’t understand the details or how the mechanics worked even a fraction as well as Tiamat did, that glint of intrigue nevertheless burned bright within her eyes at that moment. It was a side of the half-Annfyn that was inquisitive and an almost voracious learner, and it was on full display in that moment.

“How would you improve it, in theory?” She queried. ‘Don’t be sloppy’ was probably the obvious answer, though..

Her brows knitted together when Tiamat stated they didn’t, in fact, have another scout droid. “Well.. That’s is unfortunate.” She didn’t miss the irritation in Tiamat’s expression just then. “Maybe we can fix ‘em.” Vahliri.. Really did not sound confident in that assertion. She followed along as Tiamat led them a few meters ahead, stopping just short of the ledge with the woman.

“..Catch me!?” Vahliri exclaimed - though the complaint came literally as Tiamat was in the process of jumping and waving her down to follow. The half-Annfyn’s eyes narrowed into harsh slits, the pout on her lips indicative of the fact she was enjoying none of this. “If you drop me, so help me I will come back and haunt you.” She warned. With that, she tightened the straps of her back,stepped back, and jumped off of the ledge.

While Tiamat would likely be focused on catching Vahliri, the redhead would still no-doubt catch movement out of the corner of her eye - a tall, slender figure dashing just out of view and deeper into the ravine - what appeared to be long tendrils dragging behind it. It appeared and was gone in a flash, and the half-Annfyn was far too concerned with not colliding with the ground to notice.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She knew the girl would not like the idea of jumping, but it was really not too big of a deal. It would at least be controlled unlike accidental falls into mystery pits that could break bones. She watched as Vahl leaped from over the ledge, frowning as she really didn't need to give it momentum, stepping off would have worked as well. Regardless, Tiamat did as she said, grasping the woman with the Force as she controlled her fall, but it wasn't without catching movement from the corner of her eye. The distraction caused Vahl to jerk in her lowering, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, Tiamat released her.

Her blue eyes scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of change or continued movement, but there were many spaces for something to hide or blend in with the environment.

Reaching for her vibrablade her senses stretched outward, grasping at the changes that would give her an alert of caution. "I think whatever found my droid is now out there." she said slowly scanning, "Let's be cautious but be ready, its no longer defending if its hunting us." explained the redhaired woman as she proceeded forward ready with her blade.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Panic flashed across Vahliri’s features for those brief split-seconds of free-fall - only that familiar sensation of weightlessness to promptly wash over her the moment that Tiamat reached out with the Force. A sigh of relief escaped the half-Annfyn’s lips as she was slowly lowered to the ground - thankfully avoiding any harsh impact with the cliff side or rocks below. Atleast until Tiamat opted to drop her at the last second when her was only a few feet from landing.

She stumbled forward a bit but managed to keep her footing, eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly before she continued right along.

“What makes you say that?” She blinked a few times - having not once caught a glimpse of.. Whatever it was that Tiamat saw out of the corner of her. Regardless of the answer, Vahliri drew the saber from her belt - gripping the saberhilt firmly as she walked ahead. Her eyes cautiously scanned the horizon, only to pick up on.. Something.

The movement caught Vahliri’s eye, but it was the sound that echoed in her mind that caused the Acolyte to veer off from Tiamat without a word - brows furrowed as she followed the tune - legs moving and doubts quelled as if an influence washed over her mind. The half-Annfyn walked around a boulder, vanishing out of sight for a split second.

Only a split second.

“TIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Vahliri quite literally vaulted over that same boulder - re emerging from behind the stone as she absolutely fuckin’ hoofed it back towards the redhead. And much to her own dismay, the creature that prompted her to haul ass soon floated into view from behind that boulder - letting out an ear-splitting screech as it began to flail its tentacles, squirming towards the pair.

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

She seemed clueless to the warning, but it would not take much for Vahl to realize what Tiamat was speaking about as she seemed to take up the threat. Tiamat stood quietly, senses sweeping around her as she trusted her gut, the Force readied at her command and Vahl seemed to take the initiative to see what was up first. Instead of staying put, the younger sith woman decided to wandering out of sight, but would quite make her presence known again as she emerged from behind the boulder in a mad dash to safety.

No, absolutely not... Tiamat wasn't having any of this tentacle monster business today after it had destroyed her droid. The woman grimaced under the creatures screeching, but it did not deter her from countering. The Force fell heavily in the area as she gripped the grotesque armed creature with the dark side, holding it in place as its tentacles flailed about. The woman clenched her jaw as her grasp tightened, veins bulged with black, either of its own or influence from the darkness, but it wouldn't take much effort from the dark woman.

With a cry of annoyance, the creature simply exploded from its glowing eye. purple and blue thick innards exploded outward like a fresh morning zit. It was absolutely fucking gross to where even Tiamat held a face of disgust for a moment longer after the incident.

"All right, lets keep going." she said with a squeak as she felt as though she were ready to vomit from seeing that.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Oh yeah, this was going fantastic so far.

After vaulting over a boulder and yelling for Tia, Vahliri had quite literally one objective on her mind - and that was to haul ass as quickly as possible away from the tentacle-creature that she had foolishly went to investigate. Was she a trained Acolyte and Force User? Yes. Was she going to utilize any of those abilities and duke it out with that hell-creature? Absolutely the fuck not.

She couldn’t help the way her fluted ears flattened upon hearing the creature’s shrill, angry screeching behind her. It only motivated her to run that bit faster - miraculously managing not to eat shit as she whirled around - left and just behind Tiamat. Only then did she actually turn to face the monster that pursued them - watching as Tiamat tightened her grip around it. Vahliri could only stare at that moment, eyes going wide and a squeak escaping from her lips when its singular, glowing eye popped like a sixteen-year-old’s pimple and squirted innards across the ground.

It was absolutely disgusting and it was reflected in the expression on the half-Annfyn’s face - looking as if it took a concerted effort not to hurl the muffin she downed not long ago. “Fuck that noise.” Vahliri said before promptly turning on a heel and following after Tiamat. She had no desire to argue or stick around for even a second longer - amber eyes fixed down the gorge and to roughly where they’d spotted the cave entrance before.

“Don’t.. Engines release radiation, upon breaking down?” She glanced over to Tiamat, frowning a bit. “You don’t think that thing could’ve been affected by it, do you?” Vahliri asked once they were quite a bit of distance away from the creature’s corpse.

This, of course, meant that the half-Annfyn or Tiamat didn’t see how the spillage of gore and creature-goop on the ground started to shift. Puddles slowly but surely began to congeal into a thick, syrup-like consistency - perfect for your morning pancakes - that creeped towards adjacent blobs. Bubbles grew and popped across its surface, swelling in size slowly but surely..

@GABA

 

[Darth Tiamat]

"If the core is ruptured, yes. Sensors would have picked it up." she answered Vahl's question regarding the engines, which it could be a possibility where that creature came from. Some native fauna getting too close to the crash site or just spillage leaking into someone's food source could always be a possibility. Though she was uncertain of what was natural here, for what they both knew, that creature could have been hutt-ugly on its own, no help needed from chemicals. "The path engine though, we would know if it had been cracked by the large crater." explained the redheaded woman.

Tiamat paused at the entrance of the cave, seeing pieces of her droid scattered outward from where the creature had attacked it and then came for them. There was really no other way, and the signal they were searching for meant going through the cave. Tiamat suspected further on, the cave opened up or it exited into another ravine. Regardless, onward as the sith woman cautiously stepped forward, vibroblade out, but not activated as she readied her senses.

The cave smelled musty, but there was a clear draft, alerting the two of an exit somewhere further inside. Though what laid between them and their rendezvous point was still a mystery, and Tia prayed to the gods there were no nests of these one eyed ghouls nearby. Though with her luck, probably something else.

Tiamat paused, hearing something in the distance, like a trickling of water. Overhead, they would see the cave opened to the sky above them, a water source somewhere streamed down the walls of the cave and into an underground forest with a lake that cut through the center. "Woahhh..." Tia whispered and glanced at Vahl, at least now they had something pleasant to look at.

@Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

While she didn’t say it aloud, Vahliri was all-too-eager to get the hell away from that one-eyed ghoul and any of its buddies that might’ve been lingering nearby. Whether they were naturally that ugly or were affected by the radiation from the ship engine, the half-Annfyn didn’t know for certain - but it made very little difference in the fact she wanted precisely zero to do with any of that nonsense.Whatever happened to the remains of the creature went unnoticed and Vahliri didn’t spare any of that a second thought - marching right alongside Tiamat as they walked further through the ravine. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Instead, her attention fixed onto the cave opening just up ahead - her sensitive hearing picking up on the sound of water trickling long before Tiamat. Even still, the half-Annfyn couldn’t mask her surprise when they actually stepped through the entrance. Her amber eyes drifted in amazement, taking in the sight of the crisp streams and waterfalls, the hanging ivy and century-old trees that filled the underground cavern. It was beautiful in every sense of the word, and all the more surprising given the arid landscape above. “Damn..” She muttered, glancing over to Tiamat before stepping inside.

Almost by instinct, Vahliri drew the saberhilt from her belt - keeping the weapon close despite not yet igniting the blade. While the half-Annfyn half-expected some uggo to pop up at any minute, she was pleasantly surprised to find that, as they trekked deeper into the cavern, nothing of the sort made an appearance. “Must be some kind of underground aquifer.. Like an oasis.” She muttered back to Tiamat.

“Radiation levels are definitely higher down here,” Vahliri commented, gesturing down to the reader in her hands before handing it off to Tiamat. If nothing else, it indicated that they were at least closer to what they were looking for. The stoney pathway gave way to lush, forested carpets as they began to trek through the forest itself. The musty smell was gradually overpowered by something more.. Floral, as they walked. Nor could Vahliri deny the faint albeit noticeable sense that her head was suddenly.. Fuzzy. Something Tiamat would no doubt be feeling as well.

After a few moments of looking around, Vahliri finally spotted a cluster of colorful orchids that grew along the cave wall - clearly the source of the sweet smell in the air. Brief inspection would reveal dozens more nearby - growing abundantly in the cool, damp environment of the cavern. While not extraordinaire in of itself, Vahliri couldn’t help but squint as she stared at the flower a bit longer - blinking her eyes in disbelief as she swore the thing started swaying back and forth, a faint melodic sound echoing from its sepals.

“..I’m not the only one who sees the singing orchid, right?”

 

[Darth Tiamat]

Vahl mentioned the higher radiation levels and Tiamat nodded, glancing at the sensor's readings. The red head frowned, looking at the reading and then making a note on her holopad to map it quickly. "I'm probably going to have to send in droid team." she hummed in thought, she wasn't too stupid to push her luck in trying to get something covered in high amounts of radiation. However, wherever it was residing, its home was beautiful. It was hard to determine if the forest was the result of the heat and atmosphere created by the old hyperdrive or if it were already here and the environment created some sort of stability. Both options fascinated Tiamat and she handed Vahl the reader, "We stop when it reads at 14." she said noting the reading at ten.

She was a little annoyed her probe droid was demolished earlier by the creature, but took pause when Vahl questioned out loud about the singing flowers. Giving the half-annfyn a puzzled look and then took her gaze to what she was referring too; the woman listened carefully and she too could hear the faint sounds, "Yeah, that's...I don't trust that." she said pulling Vahl away from the orchids.

"C'mon, lets keep moving." she said walking beside the riverbank, hearing the quiet beeps of the radiation sensor, her own map was drawing them closer to where the source would be, "If we can at least get close enough to map it's location within a hundred meters, we can call it good and I'll get droid team to finish the rest." she told Vahl as they proceeded, only for Tiamat to pause to notice the different species of neon colored fish in the water swimming against the current. Her brow narrowed and then her senses became uneasy.

"Something is off..."

@Altaris